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Update: The confusing nature of the CPSC's press release makes it sound as though Nest has physically recalled its Protect smoke alarms after a defect that could cause the alarm to be wrongly disabled was discovered in April.

In fact, all the action required of Protect users is to carry out a software update that fixes the problem - as Nest outlined last month. If you prefer to ask Nest for a refund then the company will honour that, but no formal recall of the device will be carried out.

Nest stopped all sales of the Protect product after it discovered the fault, but anticipates it going back on sale "in a few weeks".

A spokesperson told The Guardian, "Current customers can continue to use their Nest Protects once the Nest Wave feature has been disabled via software update. Even with the Wave feature disabled, the Nest Protect Alarm will continue to perform its essential safety functions, monitoring for increased levels of smoke and [carbon monoxide], and alerting users via voice alerts and Nest app alerts (if set up) as soon as there is a potential issue."

Original story continues...

The recall, said to total 440,000 units, is the result of an issue with the Wave feature which is designed to let owners disable the sound of the alarm with a simple gesture.

Just last month the firm halted Protect sales, revealing the Wave feature could be falsely triggered, thus preventing the alarm from sounding in the event of a real fire.

The temporary solution for the problem, as listed on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website, is an automatic software update, delivered when users connect their device to a Wi-Fi network.

Disabled

Once the update is automatically downloaded, the Wave feature will be completely disabled. Following the install, the firm says users can continue to use their smoke alarms safely.

A Nest spokesperson told TechCrunch: "Even with the Wave feature disabled, the Nest Protect Alarm will continue to perform its essential safety functions, monitoring for increased levels of smoke and CO, and alerting users via voice alerts and Nest app alerts (if set up) as soon as there is a potential issue."

Users can choose to update their device or claim a full refund, options which were first presented when the issue came to light in April.